A former youth mentor at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California was convicted by a jury Wednesday of molesting twin teenage boys.

Thirty-three-year-old Ruven (Ruben) Meulenberg was convicted of two counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and three counts of lewd acts on children 14 or 15 in an Orange county court, according to the City News Service.

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Meulenberg, who the church claims as only a volunteer, was accused of committing the molestations between May 2016 and May 2017 against the twin brothers he mentored at Saddleback Church Youth Center. The actions allegedly occurred both on and off of church property.

Deputy District Attorney Courtney Thom reportedly described for jurors earlier this month an incident that happened when Meulenberg took the twin brothers to a movie theatre. The youth mentor is said to have encouraged one of the boys to sit on his lap and proceeded to kiss the 14-year-old boy on the on the head, cheek and mouth.

Meulenberg allegedly asked the boy to switch seats…

The nation’s lower courts are bound by Supreme Court precedent on abortion cases, but that doesn’t mean they can’t speak out and criticize it.

The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 3-0 ruling Wednesday agreeing that an Alabama law that banned a common abortion procedure was unconstitutional. 

The Alabama Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Act had prohibited abortion doctors from using Dilation and Evacuation, which involves killing an unborn baby by tearing it apart. This means the doctor will extract, for example, a head, two arms, a torso and two legs – all of the parts until the uterus is empty. Under Supreme Court precedent, the procedure remains legal.    

“Some Supreme Court Justices have been of the view that there is constitutional law and then there is the aberration of constitutional law relating to abortion. If so, what we must apply here is the aberration,” wrote Chief Judge Ed Carnes, who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush.

His opinion was joined by Judge Joel Fredrick Dubina, who also was nominated by George H.W. Bush. Judge Leslie J. Abrams, nominated by President Obama, wrote a note saying she was agreeing in the “judgment only” – meaning she didn’t affirm Carnes’ criticism of Roe.  

Dubina, though, wrote a concurring opinion that went even further than Carnes, saying he agrees with…

A married woman in California is suing her former pastor after he allegedly seduces her and convinced her to get an abortion when she became pregnant.

According to ABC7 News, Kimberly Labozzetta, 34, is suing The Quest Church in Novato, California, and her former pastor and marriage counselor, Joe Everly, for sexual assault, sexual harassment, fraud, sex gender discrimination retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation, negligence, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false light.

“It is not an affair. It is an abuse of power. There is a name for it. Clergy abuse,” Labozzetta told ABC7 News.

Labozzetta has been married to her husband Chris for some nine years.

She also says that Everly revealed the affair to the congregation and she ultimately lost her job working at the church.

Labozzetta worked as a youth pastor and project manager at the church. He also provided marriage counseling to her and her husband.

“A trivial example would be that I wanted Chris to be romantic. (Everly) knew I wanted more bubble baths. Every day for a week he would leave a different piece of bubble bath kit,” Labozzetta said.

When Labozzetta found out she was pregnant, she said Everly told her to get an abortion. Her husband had a vasectomy years ago.

Labozzetta said Everly told her God approved of the relationship. He also said he would leave his wife…

The pastor of a California church says his congregation has plans to open a restaurant and brewery and then use the proceeds for Planned Parenthood and other charities.

The congregation, Greater Purpose Community Church in Santa Cruz, Calif., already combines worship services with beer on tap at its current location. But it is planning on opening Greater Purpose Brewing Company in a former bookstore building in 2019, according to the local Good Times newspaper. Worship services will be held at the location on Sunday mornings. 

“We hope to be an absolute conundrum for people walking by,” Christopher VanHall, the pastor of Greater Purpose Church, told Good Times. “A church that serves beer and gives the profits away to places like Planned Parenthood is really exciting to me.”

For many churches in America, a church that brews beer and donates money to Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest abortion provider – is a double whammy. But not for VanHall, who believes a “woman’s right to choose is something most churches are silent on or opposed to, but that’s not where we stand in the faith community.”

He also believes alcohol consumption fits naturally in a church setting.

“Jesus drank wine and had a reputation of hanging out in places where people consumed alcohol,” VanHall told Good Times. “But for some reason, American churches have been…

According to French National Police, on Thursday morning, in the Trappes suburb in Paris, two people were killed and one “badly injured” in a knife attack.

The French Interior Ministry told CNN that the knifeman attacked and killed his mother and sister along with attacking another person who was a non-family member. 

CNN reports that police said, after the attack the knifeman “ran into a house to hide. He left shortly afterward and threatened police before being neutralized.”

The knifeman was killed by police at the scene.

The motive for the attack is still unknown to the public, some speculating that is was a family dispute. 

According to CNN, Interior Minister Gérard Collomb told reporters that “the attacker had serious psychiatric problems” and he “was known for being a terror apologist.”

Collomb continued saying, “He was someone who was unstable rather than committed to terrorism and who might respond to a call from ISIS.”

The knifeman was known to the French government and was on a watch list which focuses on would-be jihadists.

Though there is no evidence to support the claim, ISIS took responsibility for the attack via its Amaq media outlet.

Collomb tweeted: “My first thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. I want to salute the actions and the exemplary mobilization of our police forces. They are already investigating to establish the…